SALT LAKE CITY — Before the charter took off Friday for Utah, the Spurs went through a routine they began just this season. They removed their shoes and socks, then pulled on compression stockings that stretched from their toes to their knees.

It's not cutting-edge technology. Air travelers, as well as those with various health issues, have been using such leggings to avoid complications such as deep vein thrombosis.

Still, it's another idea among seemingly thousands the Spurs have come up with in this era. And maybe this one best describes how far the franchise has gone, because of what happened in 1998.

Then, Tim Duncan was a rookie, heading to Utah for another playoff game.

When Gregg Popovich became the franchise's general manager in 1994, he made profound changes. He hired the team's first strength and conditioning coach, for example.

Still, Popovich's vision was open ended. He wasn't sure of everything he wanted to do, because he wasn't sure what was possible.

Sometimes, too, he needed to see what was lacking. That's what happened in the spring of 1998.

The Spurs were a year away from winning their first title then, but they already were flexing. They set an NBA record for the largest turnaround, a 36-game improvement, and their power was undeniable.

David Robinson and Duncan became just the eighth set of teammates to average 20-plus points and 10-plus rebounds.

Little wonder, after beating Phoenix in the first round, they pushed Utah in the second. That year, the Jazz were a Michael Jordan nudge away from a championship. But the Spurs lost the opener in Salt Lake City by only a point and the second in overtime.

Duncan, averaging nearly 30 points in those first two games, outplayed Karl Malone.

But, early in the Game 2 overtime, Duncan landed on Jeff Hornacek's foot and sprained his left ankle. Duncan managed to stay on the floor for the next two games, which the Spurs split, and the Spurs were hopeful. As each day passed, Duncan's ankle continued to improve.

Then they flew back to Utah, where they were eliminated. And here's what Popovich said at the time:

“Let me state first that Utah won because they're a better basketball team. It's not because of Tim Duncan's ankle. But having said that, I was surprised by how it was today. He was getting better every day, and what really got him was the plane ride. It really swelled up on him. He felt he was less mobile today than he was the last three or four days.”

Altitude does that. But there are ways to minimize the effect, if not eliminate it altogether. The franchise had made a fundamental mistake; it had failed to take care of its best player.

Popovich moved to fix that in the offseason. With a recommendation from Larry Bird, Popovich hired a young trainer named Will Sevening.

Popovich challenged Sevening as he does everyone in the organization: Rethink everything, self evaluate, and look for ways to be better.

One of Sevening's recent tweaks is simple but logical. On the road, he puts an ice chest outside the door of his hotel room, and it's filled with various Gatorades.

That image is almost as comical as tall, young men pulling on stockings. The Spurs set out a cooler in a 5-star hotel hallway?

This way, though, the players can replenish their fluids any time they wish without going out or calling room service.

Still, that's a poor example for a high-tech franchise. Last season, for example, the Mavericks got attention for trying cryotherapy, a super-cooling treatment. The Spurs already had been using it.

The Spurs have studied seemingly every conceivable angle, from sleep patterns to nutrition to statistical analysis. They've improved ways to break down games on tape and how to watch the tape as a team, and their scouting is an exhaustive mix of legwork and personality profiling.

They also have a PhD on staff who fills the gaps on the medical team and looks beyond the usual. Such as: The concept of active restoration.

Is the simple act of resting enough for a player to recover? Or are there specific ways to restore the body?

The numbers appear to support what the Spurs do. They have been among the top three in the league in fewest games missed in the past decade.

Duncan is an example. This season, 14 years after his first playoff series against Utah, he has been healthy.

Had all of this been in place in 1998, maybe the results would have been different. But the Spurs learned, and they looked for ways to improve, and that's a reason Duncan and his teammates flew to Utah on Friday as they did.